The last player to win MVP and Rookie of the Year honors with the Hanwha Eagles was Ryu Hyun-jin (Toronto) in 2006.

Rookie Ryu joined Hanwha after graduating from Dongshan High School and went 18-6 with one save, a 2.23 ERA, and 203 strikeouts in 30 games, leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts, winning the regular season MVP, Rookie of the Year, and Golden Glove Pitcher. It was also the last time that Hanwha produced a rookie of the year.

Fast forward 17 years to the 2023 season.

The chances of a Hanwha Eagles player winning both the MVP and Rookie of the Year titles are increasing.

On Dec. 12, Hanwha’s home game against Doosan at Daejeon’s Hanwha Life Eagles Park further increased the odds. Hanwha won 6-1 on the day, snapping a five-game losing streak.

MVP candidate Noh Si-hwan hit the game-winning home run and Rookie of the Year candidate Moon Dong-joo got the start and went two-for-two.

Noh, who started at third base, pushed off Doosan’s Kwak Bin in the bottom of the first inning for the game-winning two-run homer. Season No. 27. He extended his lead over second-place SSG’s Choi Jung (21 home runs) to six. With runners on first and second in the seventh inning with the score 3-1, Noh drove in the winning run with a two-run double to the top of the center field fence against reliever Kim Myung-shin.

It was the first home run in two games since Gyorky’s three homers in Game 1 against KT on Sept. 9. He is on track to become Hanwha’s first home run king in 15 years, surpassing Kim Tae-gyun’s 31 home runs in 2008.

In addition to his home runs, Noh leads the league in RBIs (75) and on-base percentage (.576). This is the most impressive performance of any hitter in the league. The NC Dinos’ Eric Peddie, who leads the league in wins (15) and ERA (1.97), will be a tough competitor for the MVP.

Starter Moon Dong-ju earned his seventh win of the season (7-0) in four games, allowing one run on four hits and one walk while striking out five over six innings with a fastball that topped out at 155 mph and a big drop-off curveball.

He lowered his ERA to 3.28 and moved into third place among homegrown starters behind Kiwoom Ahn Woo-jin and KT Ko Young-pyo.

Rookie of the Year rival KIA Yoon Young-cheol, who started against Sasik Lotte, was unable to continue his recent four-game winning streak as he was tagged for five runs on eight hits in 4⅔ innings. He’s now 7-4 with a 4.13 ERA, behind Moon Dong-ju in the season-long rookie of the year race.안전놀이터

While there are other contenders for Rookie of the Year, including Lotte’s Kim Min-seok and LG’s Park Myung-geun, Moon Dong-ju is the favorite to win the award at this point. The innings limit announced by the club at the beginning of the season is a variable, but Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho recently said that it can be adjusted based on a “medical opinion,” so it’s not out of the question that he could finish the season.